Reading Challenge 2023

If you are an avid book reader, chances are that you track the books that you read. Whether that be via Goodreads, another platform, or old-fashioned pen and paper, you also might set a number goal per year. When I first started tracking my reads on a more regular basis, it was the first year that I decided to do an official reading challenge. It was a list I grabbed from Pinterest with things like “Read a book set in your home state” or “Re-read a book from your childhood.” I hadn’t noticed that there were 52 book prompts and when I did, a book a week was intimidating with my work schedule. After completing it (and actually reading more than 52 that year), I went for a higher number the next year and continued to up the total each subsequent year. For 2022, my goal was 100 and I was all good, actually ahead of schedule, until the summer months. When most people have additional reading time in the summer, mine decreases because of travel and other activities. We were lucky enough to take a dream trip to Hawaii and then I hosted my niece for a week, then my nephew for a week, and then this aunt collapsed on the couch for a week! So, for 2023 I decided to decrease the number and focus more on the type of content I wish to read. Here are some interesting challenges I’ve found. Some of them I will do, some of them are maybes, and some aren’t my thing, but are interesting.

We Didn’t Start the Fire Reading Challenge

This one made me laugh and it would be so much fun to do, but it’s a LOT of books. I think I would need to spread it across a few years to complete it. Created by ErraticElle on Instagram and based on We Didn’t Start the Fire by Billy Joel, each prompt is inspired by the lyrics of the song. For example, for Doris Day the prompt is a book with a strong, female protagonist and the prompt for Peyton Place is a book written by an LGBTQ+ author. It’s such a clever reading challenge and if you are interested in it, ErraticElle has all of the prompts on her highlight reels in Instagram.

Literally Bookish 2023 Reading Challenge

This little challenge is much more manageable with only 25 books for the year Hosted by Literally.bookish on Instagram, the prompts include a book “Read in 3 days” and a book that is the “Oldest on your TBR.” You could even save the challenge image and layer your book covers over the corresponding number and post that to your social media accounts. They also have a Facebook group for interaction.

2023 Monthly Key Word Reading Challenge

This challenge provides monthly word prompts and is hosted by Kim and Tanya from GIRLXOXO.COM. With words list Dragon, Day, Chain, Another, Thousand, Begin, Stolen, and And, May is sure to be a fun month. I didn’t see any rules listing if you could select any or all words for a month, so I’d guess that it is up to you. 

My 2023 Reading Goals

My personal reading goals for 2023 at the current moment look something list this…

• Sci-fi / Fantasy Buddy Reading List: My husband is an avid reader of science fiction and fantasy, which I can now tell you ARE two distinct categories 😂. We both love to chat about books and over the years, I’ve discovered my own love for books in these categories. For 2023, we came up with a list of books that we would both like to read and then discuss together. Currently, there are 9 books in this list. Check back on the blog next week for a breakdown of these books.
• Book of the Month: I LOVE my BOTM subscription. It’s been a consistent gift that I’ve received for years now and when that blue box arrives, it’s like Christmas. It also means that I have a shelf (or two or three) full of books that I haven’t gotten around to just yet. I’m not so delusional to think that I can get completely caught up on my BOTM books and stay caught up, but I would like to set a goal of reading 50-75% of my backlist and stay current on my new orders. 
• Book of the Month App Challenges: If you are a user of the BOTM app, you will know that they also have their own reading challenges. These usually fall into categories like a book from your BOTM shelf each month or a debut novel, 500+ page book, or a genre. If I accomplish reading 50-75% of my backlist, I should hit all of these challenges, and I am all about double dipping to hit goals!
• Pick a Reading Challenge from Instagram or Pinterest: I haven’t selected one yet, but I do plan to participate in a social media year-long challenge. I’m still digging through the options…

What are your 2023 reading goals?